Recent education reform recommendations call for increased parental involvement and the promotion of partnerships between schools and communities. However, many of the reports and documents containing these recommendations speak to parents and educators in vague terms that do not identify a clear role for parents to play in their children's education. Moreover, much of the research regarding parent involvement is deficient in breadth and devoid of content; this is especially true regarding parental involvement in secondary mathematics education. This article explores the role of parents in three urban high schools engaged in the reform of mathematics education. In particular, mathematics teachers' perceptions of parents and parents' perceptions of their children's mathematics education are examined. While paying attention to issues of power; it is argued that at all three of these high schools, parents are involved in the reform of mathematics education in a limited and passive fashion.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Apple, M. W. (1986). Teachers and texts. New York: Routledge.
2.
Apple, M. W. (1992a). Do the standards go far enough? Power, policy, and practice in mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23(5), 412-431.
3.
Apple, M. W. (1992b). Thinking more politically about the challenges before us: Aresponse to Romberg. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23(5), 438-440.
4.
Bloch, M. N. , & Tabachnick, R. B. (1994). Improving parent involvement as school reform: Rhetoric or reality? In K. M. Borman and N. P. Greeman (Eds.), Changing American education: Recapturing the past or inventing the future? (pp. 261-293). Albany: State University of New York Press.
5.
Brandt, R. (Ed.). (1994). Educational leadership, 51(4).
6.
Byrd, L. A. , Foster, S., Peressini, D., & Secada, W. G. (1994, April). Teachers' collective action for the enhancement of school mathematics. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
7.
Comer, J. P. (1980). School power: Implications of an intervention project. New York: Free Press.
8.
Dillon, D. (1993). The wider social context of innovation in mathematics education. In T. Wood, P. Cobb, E. Yackel, & D. Dillon (Eds.), Rethinking elementary school mathematics: Insights and issues (pp. 71-98). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
9.
Epstein, J. L. (1994, October). Perspectives and previews on research and policy for school, family, and community partnerships. Paper presented at the National Symposium: Family-School Links: How Do They Affect Educational Outcomes? University Park, PA.
10.
Epstein, J. L. , & Scott-Jones, D. (in press). School-family-community connections for accelerating student progress in the elementary and middle grades. In H. Levin (Ed.), Accelerating the education of at-risk students.
11.
Fine, M. (1993). [Ap]parent involvement: Reflections on parents, power, and urban public schools. Teachers College Record, 94, 682-710.
12.
Hiatt, D. B. (1994). Parent involvement in American public schools: A historical perspective 1642-1994. The School Community Journal, 4(2), 27-38.
13.
Horowitz, C. (1994, June 24). Involving parents in education: School choice movement growing across country. Investor's Business Daily, 11, pp. A1-A2.
14.
Ingwerson, M. (1994, June 7). A movement pushing the "rights" of parents picks up. Christian Science Monitor, 86, pp. 1, 4.
15.
Lareau, A. (1989). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. London: Falmer Press.
16.
Lehrer, R. , & Shumow, L. (1993, April). Teaching as assisted performance: Comparing the construction zones of parents and teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, Atlanta, GA.
17.
Liontos, L. (1992). At-risk families and schools: Becoming partners. Eugene, OR: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management.
18.
Montemayor, A. M. (1994, June/July). Parents reclaiming their schools: New initiative brings parents together for better schools. Intercultural Development Research Association Newsletter, 21(6), 1, 13, 15.
19.
National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education . (1995, Winter). NCRMSE Research review: The teaching and learning of mathematics, 4(1). (Madison: University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Center for Education Research)
20.
National Commission on Excellence in Education . (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
21.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . (1980). An agenda for action: Recommendations for school mathematics of the 1980s. Reston, VA: Author.
22.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . (1989). Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
23.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . (1991). Professional standards for teaching mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
24.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . (1995). Assessment standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
25.
National Parent-Teacher Association . (1994). A blueprint for action: Parents and community (Report prepared for project 2061). Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
26.
National Research Council . (1989). Everybody counts: A report on the future of mathematics education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
27.
Peressini, D. (1994). Parents in mathematics education reform. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
28.
Rowan, B. (1991). Applying conceptions of teaching to organizational reform. In R. F. Elmore and Associates (Eds.), Restructuring schools: The next generation of educational reform (pp. 31-58). San FrancisCO:Jossey-Bass.
29.
Sarason, S. B. (1990). The predictable failure of school reform. San FrancisCO:Jossey-Bass.
30.
Sarason, S. B. (1995). Parental involvement and the political principle. San FrancisCO:Jossey-Bass.
31.
Secada, W. G. (1989). Agenda setting, enlightened self-interest, and equity in mathematics education. In W. G. Secada & M. R. Meyer (Eds.), Needed: An agenda for equity in mathematics education [Special issue]. The Peabody Journal of Education, 66(2), 22-56.
32.
Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
33.
Stenmark, J. K. , Thompson. V., & Cossey, R. (1986). Family math. Berkeley: University of California, Lawrence Hall of Science.
34.
Stone, D. (1993). Parents made to sign contract. Wisconsin State Journal, pp. BI-B2.
35.
Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
36.
U. S. Department of Education . (1994a). Goals 2000: A world-class education for every child. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
37.
U.S. Department of Education . (1994b). Goals 2000: An invitation to your community. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
